Advisor Information

Dr. Patrice Proulx

Location

UNO Criss Library, Room 249

Presentation Type

Oral Presentation

Start Date

1-3-2019 9:00 AM

End Date

1-3-2019 10:15 AM

Abstract

Québec is a region where national identity plays a particularly important role, mainly due to its social context, and the historical influence of anglophones on the province’s affairs. This element is reflected in its cinematic productions, as Santoro, Bachand, Desroches and Loiselle stated, “Québec cinema is indeed but the most recent example of the Québécois’ ability to translate their cultural specificity into an enduring and increasingly appreciated source of cultural and economic vitality” (161). Santoro et al further claimed that “Québec cinema is indeed a rich and increasingly diversified art form and has taken its place on the world stage in the last decade alongside some of Québec’s other renowned cultural exports” (161). Although research has been carried out, there remains much more to be explored in Québec’s depiction of immigration through the use of cinema. Since immigration remains a very dynamic phenomenon, its representation will continuously evolve, and thus it needs constant attention and careful analysis.

In this paper, I plan to explore a variety of cinematic representations that take up the question of cultural difference in Québec, especially as seen through films such as Denis Chouinard’s Clandestins (1997) and L’Ange de goudron (2001), and Faladreau’s Monsieur Lazhar (2011). As Bachand observed in Cultural Encounters in Québec Cinema, “Over the course of its history, Québec cinema displayed an interest in outsiders and intercultural exchanges” (218). In my analysis, I will work on a number of important issues, including integration, discrimination, the myth of return, and the difficulties associated with immigrant experience.

COinS
 
Mar 1st, 9:00 AM Mar 1st, 10:15 AM

Representations of Immigration in Québécois Film

UNO Criss Library, Room 249

Québec is a region where national identity plays a particularly important role, mainly due to its social context, and the historical influence of anglophones on the province’s affairs. This element is reflected in its cinematic productions, as Santoro, Bachand, Desroches and Loiselle stated, “Québec cinema is indeed but the most recent example of the Québécois’ ability to translate their cultural specificity into an enduring and increasingly appreciated source of cultural and economic vitality” (161). Santoro et al further claimed that “Québec cinema is indeed a rich and increasingly diversified art form and has taken its place on the world stage in the last decade alongside some of Québec’s other renowned cultural exports” (161). Although research has been carried out, there remains much more to be explored in Québec’s depiction of immigration through the use of cinema. Since immigration remains a very dynamic phenomenon, its representation will continuously evolve, and thus it needs constant attention and careful analysis.

In this paper, I plan to explore a variety of cinematic representations that take up the question of cultural difference in Québec, especially as seen through films such as Denis Chouinard’s Clandestins (1997) and L’Ange de goudron (2001), and Faladreau’s Monsieur Lazhar (2011). As Bachand observed in Cultural Encounters in Québec Cinema, “Over the course of its history, Québec cinema displayed an interest in outsiders and intercultural exchanges” (218). In my analysis, I will work on a number of important issues, including integration, discrimination, the myth of return, and the difficulties associated with immigrant experience.